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74-774: The Merchants Limited , sometimes shortened to Merchants , was a New York, New Haven and Hartford (the "New Haven") passenger train on the Shore Line between Boston and New York City . It was the New Haven's premier passenger train and the last all- parlor car train in the United States. The train entered service in 1903, and survived the turbulent Penn Central merger to become one of Amtrak 's Boston– Washington, D.C. services. The name disappeared from Amtrak's timetables in 1995 when most Northeast trains were rebranded " NortheastDirect ". The New Haven introduced

148-585: A Mikado-type engine that was typical to the New Haven. The name of the Hartford Yard Goats Minor League Baseball team reflects the old New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad history and the design of its logo is based on the original NYNHH logo. The team plays in downtown Hartford at Dunkin' Donuts Park , which is adjacent to Hartford Yard , originally built by NYNHH. NH introduced ideas for passenger rail travel, including early use of restaurant and parlor cars in

222-530: A decade arguing a merger with regulators, was stumbling towards another stunning bankruptcy, as was the Milwaukee Road , the nation's most technologically advanced transcontinental . In 1972, the damage from Hurricane Agnes destroyed important Penn Central branches and main lines, and pushed the other northeastern roads into bankruptcy. By the mid-1970s, no major player east of Rochester - Pittsburgh , north of Pittsburgh- Philadelphia , and southwest of

296-752: A lease of the Shore Line Railway (leased in 1870 by the New York and New Haven Railroad). The company later leased more lines and systems, eventually forming a virtual monopoly in New England south of the Boston and Albany Railroad . In 1882, the railroad leased the Boston, New York and Airline Railroad, the last railroad in New Haven not controlled by the NYNH&;H. This new acquisition gave

370-445: A network of electrified trolley lines that provided interurban transportation for all of southern New England. By 1912, the New Haven operated more than 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of track, with 120,000 employees, and practically monopolized traffic in a wide swath from Boston to New York City. This quest for monopoly angered Progressive Era reformers, alienated public opinion, raised the cost of acquiring other companies and increased

444-427: A network of low-density branch lines that could not pay their own maintenance and operating costs. The freight business was short-haul, requiring switching costs that could not be recovered in short-distance rates. They operated major commuter train services in New York and Boston (as well as New Haven, Hartford and Providence), but these had always lost money; though heavily patronized, these services operated only during

518-442: A reorganization plan approved in federal court, without the vast majority of its previous non-railroad interests, and with a number of unprofitable passenger operations on marginal branches replaced with bus service. In 1948, the company operated 644 locomotives, 1,602 passenger cars and 8,796 freight cars on 1,581 miles of track. After 1951, both freight and passenger service lost money. The earlier expansion had left NH with

592-399: A technical level, the two companies served independent markets east of Cleveland (running through their namesake states), but virtually identical trackage west of Cleveland meant any merger would have anticompetitive effect. For decades, merger proposals had tried to balance the competitors instead, joining them with lesser partners end-to-end. The unexpected NYC+PRR proposal required all

666-432: A viable railroad. Then, on April 1, 1976, Penn Central transferred those rail operations to the government-owned Consolidated Rail Corporation ( Conrail ). Facing the continued loss of market share to the trucking industry, the railroad industry and its unions asked the federal government for deregulation . The 1980 Staggers Act , which deregulated the railroad industry, proved to be a key factor in bringing Conrail and

740-528: Is painted in McGinnis-era livery, while the iconic "NH" logo appears on everything from rolling stock, station signage, to tourism materials for the city of New Haven itself. The Connecticut Department of Transportation has painted its diesel commuter rail locomotives used on the non-electrified Danbury and Waterbury Metro-North branches, as well as its Shore Line East operation, in the "McGinnis Scheme," composed of white, black, and orange-red stripes with

814-529: The Metroliners , on October 28, 1995. The Merchants Limited had long lost its individual character, although it continued to offer first class service. New York, New Haven and Hartford The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad ( reporting mark NH ), commonly known as The Consolidated , or simply as the New Haven , was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of

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888-684: The Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) in 1963, and the Norfolk & Western Railway (N&W) absorbed several railroads, including the Nickel Plate and the Wabash, in 1964. Regulators also required the new company to incorporate the bankrupt New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad (NH) and New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway (NYS&W); if neither the N&;W and C&O would buy

962-571: The Hartford and New Haven Railroad , which began service between New Haven and Hartford in 1839 and reached Springfield, Massachusetts , in 1844, and the New York and New Haven Railroad , which opened in 1848 between its namesake cities. The two companies had a history of cooperation; for a time, they jointly leased the New Haven and Northampton Railroad and coordinated their steamship services with each other. An initial merger attempt between

1036-625: The Lehigh Valley Railroad (LV), then that railroad should be incorporated as well. Ultimately, only the New Haven successfully joined the Penn Central; the conglomerate failed before it could incorporate the latter two. The only railroad leaving the Penn Central was the PRR's controlling interest in the N&W, whose dividends had generated much of the PRR's premerger profitability. The legal merger (formally, an acquisition of

1110-567: The MBTA , and numerous freight operators such as CSX and the Providence and Worcester Railroad . The majority of the surviving system is now owned publicly by the states of Connecticut , Rhode Island , and Massachusetts , with other surviving segments owned by freight railroads; many abandoned lines have been converted into rail trails . The New Haven system was formed by the merger of two railroads that intersected in New Haven, Connecticut :

1184-525: The Merchants Limited on December 14, 1903. The train offered first class parlor car seating only; amenities included a dining car and private rooms. The trains departed New York and Boston at 5 PM and made the trip between the two cities in five hours. This schedule would be reduced to 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours in 1935, 4 + 1 ⁄ 4 hours in 1940, and finally 4 hours flat in 1949. This proved unsustainable as conditions deteriorated on

1258-564: The Metro-North Railroad ’s New Haven Line and Shore Line East , providing commuter service from Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal as far eastward as New London, Connecticut. The New Haven Line is coded red on Metro-North timetables and system maps, a nod to the red livery used by the New Haven for the last decade of its history. MBTA 's Providence/Stoughton Line provides commuter service between Providence and South Station in Boston. Amtrak took over passenger service on

1332-475: The New Haven–Springfield Line in 1976, and was joined by the state of Connecticut's Hartford Line in 2018. On August 28, 1980, American Financial Enterprises, Inc., acquired the remaining assets of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company when the plan for reorganization was approved by the court and the company was reorganized. This brought to an end the 108-year corporate history of

1406-703: The Penn Central system, formed a year earlier by the merger of the New York Central Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad . Already a poorly conceived merger, Penn Central went bankrupt in 1970, becoming the largest U.S. bankruptcy until the Enron Corporation superseded it in 2001. The remnants of the system now comprise Metro-North Railroad 's New Haven Line , much of the northern leg of Amtrak 's Northeast Corridor , Connecticut 's Shore Line East and Hartford Line , parts of

1480-599: The 156 miles (251 km) of rail used by the Hudson and Harlem Lines , and Grand Central Terminal, as well as unused development rights above the tracks in Midtown Manhattan . The platforms and yards extend for several blocks north of the terminal building under numerous streets and existing buildings leasing air rights, including the MetLife Building and Waldorf-Astoria Hotel . In November 2018,

1554-474: The 1950s. The New Haven was merged on January 1, 1969, into the Penn Central , formed the previous year by the New York Central Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad . The Penn Central went bankrupt in 1970 and divested itself of its passenger trains in 1971. Amtrak , the new national operator, retained the Merchants Limited , although it would soon be extended through to Washington, D.C. Amtrak dropped individual names from its Northeast Corridor trains, save

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1628-477: The Board of Estimate and Apportionment, which only became defunct in 1989. Morgan and Mellen achieved a complete monopoly of transportation in southern New England, purchasing other railroads and steamship and trolley lines. More than 100 independent railroads eventually became part of the system before and during these years, reaching 2,131 miles at its 1929 peak. Substantial improvements to the system were made during

1702-529: The Bowl. On November 21, 1922, for example, such trains carried more than 50,000 passengers. "There is nothing which can be compared with the New Haven's football movement except a record of one of the mass-movements incidental to the European war," one observer wrote in 1916. Penn Central The Penn Central railroad system developed in response to challenges facing northeastern American railroads during

1776-592: The Connecticut Public Utilities Commission in February 1960 if the company's survival was in imminent danger, the New Haven's comptroller replied, "Yes, even with the best of management". Continuing financial problems forced the New Haven into bankruptcy on July 7, 1961, and federal court judge Robert P. Anderson assumed trusteeship . The railroad reported it would have only $ 9,262,000 in funds to cover expenses of $ 33,480,000 at

1850-587: The MTA proposed purchasing the Hudson and Harlem Lines as well as the Grand Central Terminal for up to $ 35.065 million, plus a discount rate of 6.25%. The purchase would include all inventory, operations, improvements, and maintenance associated with each asset, except for the air rights over Grand Central. The MTA's finance committee approved the proposed purchase on November 13, 2018, and the purchase

1924-585: The Maine-New Hampshire border remained solvent. Under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT), Penn Central agreed to trial new technologies to revive the flagging passenger services on what would become the Northeast Corridor . PC continued to operate the PRR's Metroliner service between New York City and DC , and introduced a new United Aircraft TurboTrain between New York City and Boston . But

1998-860: The Mellen years, including electrification between New York and New Haven . Morgan and Mellen went further and attempted to acquire or neutralize competition from other railroads in New England, including the New York Central 's Boston and Albany Railroad, the Rutland Railroad , the Maine Central Railroad , and the Boston and Maine Railroad . But the Morgan-Mellen expansion left the company overextended and financially weak. In 1914, 21 directors and ex-directors of

2072-749: The Midwest. Derailments and wrecks occurred regularly; when the trains avoided mishap, they operated far below design speed , resulting in delayed shipments and excessive overtime. Operating costs soared, and shippers soured on the products. In 1969, most of Maine's potato production rotted in the PC's Selkirk Yard , hurting the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad , whose shippers vowed never to ship by rail again. Although both PRR and NYC had been profitable pre-merger, Penn Central was — at one point — losing $ 1 million per day. As PC's management struggled to wrestle

2146-533: The NH was purchased by PC, which operated the train. Other passenger trains: Beginning November 21, 1914, the railroad operated special trains to bring football fans to and from the new Yale Bowl stadium in New Haven. Passengers rode extra trains from Springfield, Boston, and especially New York to the New Haven Union Station, where they transferred to trolleys for the 2-mile (3.2 km) ride to

2220-519: The NYC by the PRR) concluded on February 1, 1968. The Pennsylvania Railroad, the nominal survivor of the merger, changed its name to Pennsylvania New York Central Transportation Company, and soon began using "Penn Central" as a trade name. That trade name became official a month later on May 8, 1968. Saunders later commented: "Because of the many years it took to consummate the merger, the morale of both railroads

2294-801: The New Haven Railroad a connection to Willimantic, Connecticut . Two more companies, the Naugatuck Railroad and the Connecticut Valley Railroad , were leased by the New Haven in 1887. With these two leases, the New Haven was in control of 10 of the 22 railroads in Connecticut at the time. Around the beginning of the 20th century, New York investors led by J. P. Morgan gained control, and in 1903 installed Charles S. Mellen as President. Charles Francis Murphy's New York Contracting and Trucking company

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2368-618: The New Haven and would be raised to 4 + 1 ⁄ 4 hours in 1956. The New Haven considered the Merchants Limited its premier train and it always ran with the best equipment possible. When it received coaches in May 1949 it was the last all-parlor car train running in the United States . A second section, the Advance Merchants Limited , operated fifteen minutes ahead of the Merchants Limited at various times in

2442-421: The PC in large measure). George Drury described the bankruptcy as "a cataclysmic event, both to the railroad industry and to the nation's business community," not least because Penn Central increasingly appeared the proverbial canary in the coal mine . Across the nation, railroads discontinued Penn Central's core business (passenger trains) as fast as regulators would let them. The Rock Island , midway through

2516-583: The Penn Central Company. The first Penn Central Transportation Company (PCTC) was incorporated on April 1, 1969, and its stock was assigned to a new holding company called Penn Central Holding Company. On October 1, 1969, the Penn Central Company, the former Pennsylvania Railroad, absorbed the first PCTC and was renamed the second Penn Central Transportation Company the next day; the Penn Central Holding Company became

2590-534: The Providence & Worcester, Bay Colony, Boston & Maine, Connecticut Central, Pioneer Valley, Housatonic and Connecticut Southern railroads. Those lines still operated by Conrail in 1999 became part of CSX Transportation as the result of the breakup of the Conrail system. The state of Connecticut frequently alludes to the New Haven in its modern transportation projects; much of the state’s commuter equipment

2664-564: The United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of the New York and New Haven and Hartford and New Haven railroads, the company had near-total dominance of railroad traffic in Southern New England for the first half of the 20th century. Beginning in the 1890s and accelerating in 1903, New York banker J. P. Morgan sought to monopolize New England transportation by arranging the NH's acquisition of 50 companies, including other railroads and steamship lines, and building

2738-415: The authentic script-lettering insignia of the original "New York, New Haven and Hartford" railroad on the tenders of its resident steam locomotives, 2-8-0 Consolidation type Number 97 and 2-8-2 Mikado type number 40. There is a third steam locomotive in restoration to running order; a Chinese SY-class Mikado, formerly known as the 1658, it is being renumbered and painted as New Haven 3025, and is to be based on

2812-433: The brash Patrick B. McGinnis led a proxy fight against incumbent president Frederic C. "Buck" Dumaine Jr. , vowing to return more of the company's profit to shareholders. McGinnis won control of the railroad and appointed Arthur V. McGowan, a longtime acquaintance, Vice President. McGinnis attempted to accomplish many of his financial goals by deferring all but the most essential maintenance. Under McGinnis, Knoll Associates

2886-601: The company into submission, the structural headwinds facing all northeastern railroads continued unabated. The industrial decline of the Rust Belt consumed shippers through the Northeast and Midwest . Penn Central's executives tried to diversify the troubled firm into real estate and other non-railroad ventures, but in a slow economy these businesses performed little better than the original railroad assets. Worse, these new subsidiaries diverted management attention away from

2960-406: The company operated as an independent, private-sector railroad from 1987 to 1999. The Pennsylvania Railroad absorbed the New York Central Railroad on February 1, 1968, and at the same time changed its name to Pennsylvania New York Central Transportation Company to reflect this. The trade name of "Penn Central" was adopted, and, on May 8, the former Pennsylvania Railroad was officially renamed

3034-692: The company owned when Conrail was created were the Buckeye Pipeline and a 24 percent stake in Madison Square Garden (which stands above Penn Station) and its prime tenants, the New York Knicks basketball team and New York Rangers hockey team, along with Six Flags Theme Parks. Though the company retained ownership of some rights-of-way and station properties connected with the railroads, it continued to liquidate these and eventually concentrated on one of its subsidiaries in

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3108-592: The company. In the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973, the federal government nationalized Penn Central to save it. For two years, the United States Railway Association sorted through the assets of PC (and six other bankrupt railroads: EL, LV, Reading , Lehigh & Hudson River Railway , Central Railroad of New Jersey and Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines ) to decide what could be reshaped into

3182-548: The corporation. Penn Central was bankrupt by 1970 and the New Haven corporate entity remained in existence throughout the 1970s as the Trustee of the Estate pursued just payment from Penn Central for the New Haven's assets. Leased by the New Haven since before 1900, the Providence and Worcester Railroad (P&W) successfully exited its lease under Penn Central and resumed operating its own line in 1973. A substantial portion of

3256-504: The former New Haven main line between New York and Boston was transferred to Amtrak in 1976 and now forms the northern leg of the electrified Northeast Corridor , hosting high-speed Acela Express and regional rail service. The main line between New Rochelle and New Haven is jointly owned by the state of Connecticut and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York, and is served by

3330-404: The history of the often-scorned company. As part of Norfolk Southern Railway 's 30th anniversary, the railroad painted 20 new locomotives utilizing former liveries of predecessor railroads. Unit number 1073, a SD70ACe, is painted in a Penn Central Heritage scheme. As part of the 40th anniversary of the Metro-North Railroad , four locomotives were painted in a different heritage scheme to honor

3404-651: The iconic NH logo. Although a new livery was introduced with the opening of the Hartford Line commuter service in 2018, much of its equipment is shared with Shore Line East , of which some continue to bear the McGinnis livery and the rest have been repainted into the new " CT Rail " livery. All of these lines were formerly owned by the New Haven. The Valley Railroad , a preservation line based in Essex, Connecticut that runs both steam and diesel traction, has painted

3478-502: The insurance business. The former Pennsylvania Railroad changed its name to American Premier Underwriters in March 1994. It became part of Carl Lindner 's Cincinnati financial empire American Financial Group . Until late 2006, American Financial Group still owned Grand Central Terminal , though all railroad operations were managed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The U.S. Surface Transportation Board approved

3552-489: The interior of a never-built design for articulated commuter coaches. When McGinnis departed in 1956, he left the company financially wrecked, a situation exacerbated by severe damage from the 1955 Connecticut floods . In 1959, the New Haven discontinued passenger service on the Old Colony Railroad network in southeastern Massachusetts. That year, the company reported close to $ 11 million in losses. Asked by

3626-488: The late 1960s. While railroads elsewhere in North America drew revenues from long-distance shipments of commodities such as coal, lumber, paper and iron ore , railroads in the densely-populated northeast traditionally depended on a heterogeneous mix of services, including: These labor-intensive, short-haul services proved vulnerable to competition from automobiles, buses, and trucks , a threat recently invigorated by

3700-401: The lines had fought bitterly over New York-Chicago custom and ill-will remained in the executive suites. Amongst middle management , the company's corporate cultures all but precluded integration: a team of young, flexible managers had begun reshaping the NYC from a traditional railroad into a multimodal express-freight transporter, while the PRR continued to bet on a railroad revival. At

3774-498: The morning and evening rush hours , and were unable to recover their infrastructure costs. The demise of the New Haven was likely hastened by the 1958 opening of the Connecticut Turnpike , largely paralleling the railroad’s mainline across the state, and the subsequent construction of other interstate highways. With decades of inadequate investment, the New Haven could not compete against automobiles or trucks. In 1954,

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3848-470: The new corporation's management. As ex-PRR managers began to secure the plum jobs, the forward-thinking ex-NYC managers departed for greener pastures. Clashing union contracts prevented the company's left hand from talking to its right, and incompatible computer systems meant that PC classification clerks regularly lost track of train movements. Subpar track conditions, the result of years of deferred maintenance , deteriorated further, particularly in

3922-491: The new equipment proved useless without high-quality track to run it on, or a railroad capable of releasing schedules to the ticket-seeking public. In response, the Nixon administration developed Amtrak , which relieved any railroad that desired it of the obligation to operate passenger service. PC unsuccessfully attempted to sell-off the air rights to Grand Central Terminal , and allow developers to build skyscrapers above

3996-574: The new limited-access highways authorized in the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 . At the same time, contemporary railroad regulation restricted the extent to which U.S. railroads could react to the new market conditions. Changes to passenger fares and freight shipment rates required approval from the capricious Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), as did mergers or abandonment of lines. Merger, which eliminated duplicative back office employees, seemed an escape. The situation

4070-705: The northeastern railroads to reconsider their corporate strategy, clouding the waters for the ICC. The resulting negotiations took nearly a decade, and when the PRR and NYC merged, they faced three competitors of comparable size: the Erie had merged with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western to create the Erie Lackawanna Railway (EL) in 1960, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O) acquired control of

4144-430: The old PC assets back to life. During the 1980s, the deregulated Conrail had the muscle to implement the route reorganization and productivity improvements that the PC had unsuccessfully tried to implement between 1968 and 1970. Hundred of miles of former PRR and NYC trackage were abandoned to adjacent landowners or rail trail use. The stock of the subsequently-profitable Conrail was refloated on Wall Street in 1987, and

4218-421: The problems in the core business. To create the illusion of success, management also insisted on paying dividends to shareholders, desperately borrowing funds to buy time for the business to turn around. Within two years, Penn Central could no longer remain solvent, and, on June 21, 1970, the nation's sixth-largest corporation had become its largest bankruptcy. (The Enron Corporation 's 2001 bankruptcy eclipsed

4292-630: The railroad were indicted for "conspiracy to monopolize interstate commerce by acquiring the control of practically all the transportation facilities of New England." In 1925, the railroad created the New England Transportation Company as a subsidiary to operate buses and trucks on routes where rail service was no longer profitable. Under the stress of the Great Depression the company became bankrupt in 1935, remaining in trusteeship until 1947. Common stock

4366-471: The railroad's construction costs. The company's debt soared from $ 14 million in 1903 to $ 242 million in 1913, while the advent of automobiles, trucks and buses reduced its profits. Also in 1913, the federal government filed an antitrust lawsuit that forced the NH to divest its trolley systems. The line became bankrupt in 1935. It emerged from bankruptcy, albeit reduced in scope, in 1947, only to go bankrupt again in 1961. In 1969, its rail assets were merged with

4440-509: The sale of several of American Financial Group's remaining railroad assets to Midtown TDR Ventures LLC, an investment group controlled by Argent Ventures , in December 2006. The current lease with the MTA was negotiated to last through February 28, 2274. The MTA paid $ 2.4 million annually in rent in 2007 and had an option to buy the station and tracks in 2017, although Argent could extend the date another 15 years to 2032. The assets included

4514-409: The second PCTC, gave up its railroad assets to Conrail in 1976 and absorbed its legal owner, the second Penn Central Company, in 1978, and at the same time changed its name to The Penn Central Corporation . In the 1970s and 1980s, the company now called The Penn Central Corporation was a small conglomerate that largely consisted of the diversified sub-firms it had before the crash. Among the properties

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4588-489: The second Penn Central Company. Thus, the company that was formerly the Pennsylvania Railroad became the first Penn Central Company and then became the second PCTC. The old Pennsylvania Company , a holding company chartered in 1870, reincorporated in 1958 and long a subsidiary of the PRR, remained a separate corporate entity throughout the period following the merger. The former Pennsylvania Railroad, now

4662-556: The steam era, and more during the transition to diesel. NH was a pioneer in many ways; in streamliners with the Comet , in the use of diesel multiple units (DMUs) in the U.S. with both Budd's regular Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) and the all-RDC Roger Williams trainset, in the use of rail-adapted buses, in lightweight trains such as the Train X -equipped Dan'l Webster , and in experimentation with Talgo -type (passive tilt) equipment on

4736-518: The storied railroad, and the end to the 19-year saga of its second bankruptcy reorganization. American Financial Enterprises would become the largest single stockholder of Penn Central Company shares by the mid-1990s, controlling 32% of the stock of the company. Freight operations on former New Haven lines passed to Conrail with its government-overseen creation on April 1, 1976. During the subsequent 23 years, Conrail withdrew from much of that territory, abandoning some track and handing other lines over to

4810-431: The terminal, in order to fund continued operations. The resulting lawsuit, Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City , was decided in 1978, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that PC could not sell Grand Central's air rights because the terminal was a New York City designated landmark . In May 1974, the bankruptcy court concluded that the railroad operations of PC could never provide enough income to reorganize

4884-409: The train John Quincy Adams . An audacious experiment was the UAC TurboTrain , which with passive tilt , turbine engines and light weight attempted to revolutionize medium—distance railway travel in the U.S. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation , the Turbo Train holds the U.S. railway speed record of 170 mph, set in 1968. The NH never operated the Turbo in revenue service, as

4958-441: The two in 1870 was rejected by the Connecticut General Assembly , largely over fears that the merged railroad would form a monopoly. But the legislature approved a second attempt just two years later, and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad was formed on July 24, 1872. The newly-combined railroad owned a main line from New York City to Springfield via New Haven and Hartford, and also reached New London, Connecticut via

5032-399: The year's end. Company president George Alpert blamed "government subsidies direct and indirect to our competitors, and inequitable taxes" for the railroad's deficits, pointing to billions of dollars in federal funding for highways and airports. At the insistence of the Interstate Commerce Commission, the New Haven was merged into Penn Central on December 31, 1968, ending rail operations by

5106-425: Was approved by the full board two days later. The deal finally closed in March 2020, with the MTA taking ownership of the terminal and rail lines. Few railroad historians and former employees view the mega-railroad's brief existence favorably, and the company has little presence in the railroad enthusiast press. The preservation group Penn Central Railroad Historical Society was formed in July 2000 to preserve

5180-428: Was awarded a $ 6 million contract in 1904 to build rail lines in the Bronx for the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad. An executive at the railroad said the contract was awarded to avoid friction with New York City’s Tammany Hall political machine. In response to this contract, the New York State Legislature amended the city's charter so that franchise-awarding power was removed from the city council and given to

5254-404: Was badly disrupted and they were faced with unmanageable problems which were insurmountable. In addition to overcoming obstacles, the principal problem was too much governmental regulation and a passenger deficit which amounted to more than $ 100 million a year." Almost immediately after the transaction cleared, the organizational headwinds presaged during the merger negotiations began to overwhelm

5328-537: Was particularly acute for the Pennsylvania (PRR) and New York Central (NYC) railroads. Both had extensive physical plants dedicated to their passenger custom. As that revenue stream faded following WWII , neither could slim their assets fast enough to earn a substantial profit (although the NYC came much closer). In 1957, the two proposed a merger, despite severe organizational and regulatory hurdles. Neither railroad had much respect for its merger partner;

5402-562: Was retained to design a new visual identity for the company. Green and gold trim on rolling stock was replaced by black, red-orange and white, accompanied by a stylized "NH" emblem. Knoll employed architect Marcel Breuer to design the interiors and exterior styling of the three experimental trainsets – the Dan'l Webster , John Quincy Adams , and Roger Williams – that were ordered in 1955. Breuer also designed new station buildings for Rye and New London , neither of which were built, as well as

5476-777: Was voided and creditors assumed control. During the 88 stations case , the railroad closed 88 stations in Massachusetts and 5 in Rhode Island in 1938, and unsuccessfully attempted to abandon the Boston-area portion of the Old Colony Division. The twelve-year reorganization resulted in "eight Supreme Court decisions, fourteen circuit court decisions, five district court decisions, and eleven ICC reports." The railroad emerged in September 1947 under

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